No explanation why Norfolk Island's tariffs are nearly triple the rest of Australia's

Forum » Beenos Trumpet » No explanation why Norfolk Island's tariffs are nearly triple the rest of Australia's

Apr 03, 2025, 03:41

A tiny Australian territory has been handed a US tariff nearly triple what the rest of the country has received.

As the rest of Australia was dealt a 10 per cent tariff from Donald Trump this morning, Norfolk Island received 29 per cent.

The White House offered no explanation for the disparity.


LIVE UPDATES: Trump reveals tariff rate on Australia

When asked about it today, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was baffled.

"I'm not quite sure that Norfolk Island, with respect to it, is a trade competitor with the giant economy of the United States," he said.

"But that just shows and exemplifies the fact that nowhere on Earth is exempt from this.

"I'm not sure what Norfolk Island's major exports are to the US or why it has been singled out, but it has."

Norfolk Island is about 1400km east of the Australian mainland and has a population of about 2000 people.

The White House also specified that 10 per cent tariffs would be placed on Heard and McDonald Islands, another Australian territory.

But both islands close to the Antarctic are uninhabited.

READ MORE: Why Australia won't import American beef

Christmas Island, another Australian territory, has also been named in the list, with the same 10 per cent tariff as the rest of the country.

According to the Associated Press, Trump's new tariffs won't affect those already in place.

As far as Australia's concerned, that means steel and aluminium tariffs will remain as is, without alteration.


Tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico also remain unchanged.

Trump announced earlier his global tariffs would come into effect "from midnight".

Assuming that's midnight in Washington DC, that would be 3pm AEDT, 2pm AEST, 2.30pm in South Australia, 1.30pm in the Northern Territory, and noon in Perth.

Not a lot of time for importers or exporters to prepare - although this has been flagged for some time now.

Trade Minister Don Farrell says Australia will continue to sell into the US.

"When China imposed a 220 per cent tariff on Australian wine, that killed wine exports the next day, stone dead," he said.


"That's not what has happened here. Australian wine will now apparently go into the United States at a 10 per cent tariff. We'll still continue to sell wine into the United States."

He also flagged the possibility of a new free trade agreement with the European Union, negotiations toward which had previously fallen over.

"The world has changed as of today. The world has changed for Europe," he said.

"Europe is now subject to a much higher tariff into the United States.

"If they're sensible, they make us a better offer on the issues that made the agreement fall over last time, and we'll get a free trade agreement with the EU."


Apr 03, 2025, 10:17

The Trump tariff formula has already been worked out.


It’s simply the nation’s trade deficit with US divided by the nation’s exports to US.


https://x.com/Geiger_Capital/status/1907568233239949431?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1907568233239949431%7Ctwgr%5E745a241f6c5b6e50e429ac31110304388691d188%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.boards.ie%2Fdiscussion%2F2058353122%2Fdonald-trump-the-megathread-part-ii-mod-warnings-in-op-updated-18-03-25%2Fp574


The fact that uninhabited islands got hit with trade tariffs makes it look like the people who were working out these tariff rates just went through a wikipedia list of countries and locations and checked them off a tick list.

Apr 03, 2025, 10:57

You are dead wrong about the sisue. Trump appointed experts to deal with trade issues and they know eactly where imbalalcnes occur. The media is sick to death wth fake reporting and normally spread BS to discredit what the Trump administration is trying to do to save the USA from imminent financial collapse. Unihaboted islands are undr G overnmetn administrations and tose G overnmetns are who is hit with tarifs, What is amazing is that the emdia got thing s totally wron g because they hate Trump.


Trump s tryng t bring in AI to deal with Federal Gvernment management - while some Departments and agencies have 30 o;d outdated systems and some agncies no computer systems at all. That makes air flights in the USA dangerous sicne aircraft systems is older than 30 years and so is the flight control towers, The USA govcernemtn service is the root of the problem - they rather appoint new employees than imprve BS systems operted manually. Real unbelievable garbage in a country to claim theya re he most advanced technology in the world - but in a amjor way not use it.


Just as an aside - the Municipality where I worked in the 1990's embark with the aid of the Development Bank on a project to upgade the water and sewerage facilities through private sector investment - a proect of hich I was the project leader - so the Ban suggested that our engineer and financial head go on an organized tour to study infrastructure and management systems in the USA, They ae abck and reported that the infastructure they saw iro water purificatin and sewerage treatment date from the 1950's and maintenance was inadequate, Nothing was done over the last 30 years and the situation is critical, That is something the media is dead quiet about.


 
You need to Log in to reply.
Back to top